Euonymus alatus apterus
| Euonymus alatus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 7' |
| Width: | 10' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Euonymus alatus apterus (common name: winged spindle tree)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 8 - 12 weeks warm followed by 8 - 16 weeks cold stratification and can then be sown in a cold frame[1][2]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm long taken at a node or with a heel, July/August in a frame. Very easy[3].
Cultivation: Thrives in almost any well-drained soil, including chalk, it is particularly suited to dry shaded areas[3]. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil[4].
A very ornamental plant[4].
Range: E. Asia - Japan.
Habitat: Thickets and woods in lowland and mountains all over Japan.
Edibility: Young leaves, boiled[5][6].
The fruit may be edible[5][6]. No further details. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[3].
These reports of edibility should be treated with some caution, see the notes above on toxicity.
The flowers are a tea substitute[7].
Medicinal: Anodyne, anthelmintic, antiphlogistic, astringent[7].
The stem and branches are alterative, analgesic, anthelmintic, anticoagulant, antipruritic, blood tonic, carminative, emmenagogue and purgative[8][9]. A decoction is used in the treatment of 'cold' headache, general body aches, pruritis, irregular menstruation and other gynaecological diseases[8].
Plants contain the anticancer compound dulcitol[9].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, a number of plants in this genus are suspected of being poisonous and so some caution is advised.
Links
References
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ Gordon, A and D Rowe. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. 1982.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.